Should traffic cops pay be based on tickets?

It's a theory many drivers have held since their first speeding ticket, that citations are somehow connected to a special perk for the officer writing it.

Now, a memo among Atlanta police officers has reignited such suspicions.

"The mayor has designated traffic court and ticket revenue for future pay increases," Atlanta Police Union President Ken Allen wrote this month.

Some residents scoffed at the idea.

"I'm probably going to switch from sales and join the police force in that case, if that's the way it's working," one resident, Ken Miller,told CNN affiliate WSB-TV. (more)

While some fear that tying pay to ticket-writing productivity, some believe there are very good reasons for doing so:

Tucson Police Chief Roberto Villasenor requires his officers to make an average of at least one traffic stop a day. He said many important arrests stem from traffic stops.

"That's where we get most of our narcotic arrests. We get a lot of warrants we've been able to serve," Villasenor told CNN affiliate KGUN. "There's benefit from traffic (stops) that have been proven in city after city. I'm just saying we can't forget that's part of our job." (same source as above)

I think most people drive over the speed limit a good deal of the time, so there's probably little need for the police to fabricate false speeding tickets and no doubt it has some effect, however small, on the speed at which people drive. It also leads to other arrests for more serious crimes.

So would frisking everyone on a daily basis. That is a ridiculous idea. Do you really want to live in a country where the police or other authorities can stop you whenever they like and check that you are not committing a crime? I thought the USA was supposed to be the land of the free.

One minute you are decrying the idea of retaining peoples DNA on databases, and the next, you are proposing unlimited, no actually incentivised stop and search routines. That's some fence, you're sitting on...

Strega, you should know by now that, in the interest of stimulating interesting conversations, I keep my actual personal views on things close to my vest and offer and sometimes defend views which I know are controversial. If I'm straddling a fence, it won't be a fence you necessarily know about. LOL

Take speeding for example. First Pullover: Warning. First offense: $500 fine. Second offense: $1000 fine. Third offense: $2,000 fine. Double it every time. Once it hits $16,000: seize the car. On $32,000 loss of license. If they're driving a car without a license or a car that belongs to someone else: 30 days in jail the first time, 60 days the second time, 120 days the third time, and so on.